Crawling out of a bag in the middle of New York’s Time Square with nothing but tattoos covering her body, Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) is on a mission to discover who she is and the meaning of each permanent marking etched onto an otherwise empty canvas.
As each episode passes, Jane learns more and more about herself. For instance, her ass-kicking skills might be the reason for her Navy Seal tattoo. FBI Agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) is somehow connected to her, not only because Jane’s got his name tattooed on her back, but because of a 10-year-old childhood memory she has of Weller playing with his next door neighbor, Taylor Shaw.
Taylor had fallen from the tree when playing with Agent Weller and ended up with stitches on the back of her neck. Shortly there after, the little went missing and Weller has been looking for her ever since. The fact that Jane has the same scar on the back of her neck prompts Weller to obtain a DNA sample. The search is finally over, however, when we learn at the end of Episode 3 confirms Jane Doe is indeed the missing Taylor Shaw who disappeared long ago.
The tattoos that provide hidden clues on Taylor’s true identity definitely reminds me of the cult classic Memento. The show also borrows some of its premise from the Bourne Trilogy. The strength of this show is the differences it brings to the screen, namely telling the story via a strong female lead. It’s great to see women in power positions rather that in generic, Hollywood submissive roles. Instead, Taylor is the tattooed protagonist who challenges everything we might consider “masculine,” taboo even, in a female role. Her strength is both gender and genre bending without overtly being either.
Blindspot is a fast-paced, action-packed drama that is easy to follow and worthy of ingesting on Monday night, despite the fact that there are some unoriginal elements. But, what hasn’t already been done? So it’s apropos that it follows directly after The Voice.